Nets: Dwight Who?

Nets center Brook Lopez has excelled this season while Dwight Howard and the Lakers have struggled.
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The expression may not exist, but anyone bothering to try would be wise to work in the name "Brook Lopez," not "Dwight Howard."

Nets point guard Deron Williams described such a feeling at Monday's practice when asked about having Lopez as the team's center instead of Howard, who the Nets made several attempts to acquire in 2012.

"It's not a 'shoulda-coulda-woulda' scenario," Williams said, reiterating his support for Lopez over Howard.

The truth is, the Nets' failure to acquire Howard from the Orlando Magic at last year's trade deadline and again in the off-season should elicit more relief than regret. General manager Billy King took a calculated risk by re-signing Lopez, who was coming off an injury-plagued season, to a four-year, $61 million deal. Howard was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, who bring a disappointing 22-26 record into Tuesday's matchup at Barclays Center with the 28-19 Nets.

Howard has also endured back and shoulder problems (it's uncertain if he will play against the Nets) as he prepares to become a free agent this summer.

Further complicating matters is the league's collective-bargaining agreement, which calls for increasingly stiffer luxury taxes over the next two seasons. So even if Howard's next deal starts around his current salary of $19.5 million, Lopez's 2013-2014 salary of $14.7 million would be a bigger discount than just the $4.8 million difference.

Money isn't a problem for the Nets' billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov, but he's clearly getting more out of Lopez and backup Andray Blatche than the Lakers are getting out of Howard, and he's doing it for $5 million less.

The Nets' centers are tops in the NBA in points per game (27.2), third in steals (1.7 per game), ninth in blocks (2.5) and an impressive 28th in fouls (4.2). Howard is undeniably a better rebounder than Lopez or Blatche (he leads the league at 11.9 per game), but the Lakers' overall rebounding isn't much better than the Nets'. The former ranks fifth in rebounding rate (percentage of missed shots rebounded), while the latter is eighth.

"We've gotten so much out of that position all year," interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said.

Blatche, who signed for the veteran's minimum after being waived by the Washington Wizards, is averaging 10.7 points a game and scored 11 essential fourth-quarter points in Friday's win over the Chicago Bulls.

He isn't signed beyond this season, but even if he doesn't stay, he's helped Lopez improve simply by pushing him in practice.

"[Lopez] hasn't really had that in the past since I've been here—a big man who can score and do the things that 'Dray can do," Williams said.

"There are practices where 'Dray's got the best of him and you can tell that it bothered Brook."

Carlesimo has seen a tangible change. Lopez wasn't known as a great defender in the past, but he's blocking nearly as many shots as Howard (2.18 to 2.42 per game), and he's finally anchoring the Nets' defense.

"It's night and day," Carlesimo said. "His attention to defense is so much better than it was and it's helped our team."

King and the Nets haven't been in Brooklyn long, but they've already learned a valuable lesson: Never pay retail.

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